“Why don’t we talk? Outside, perhaps?” He gestured to the French doors that led to the place where she was supposed to be meeting another Michael. A better Michael.
Not wanting to make a scene, she politely nodded and led the way. In her mind, the sooner she talked to him, the sooner he’d leave. But irritation surged through her when he placed his hand low on her back and guided her through the door. Marking his territory, laying claim to her.
The door had barely closed behind them when she stopped in her tracks on the patio.
“Why don’t we talk over there?” He gestured to the gazebo at the water’s edge. “It’s more private.”
Whatever he was selling, she wasn’t buying and she refused to go any farther than the lawn. “What are you doing here, Mike?”
Surprisingly he didn’t argue; instead, he just tucked his hands in his pockets. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking these past few weeks, ever since that reminder you put in my phone about Sam’s wedding showed up on my calendar.”
Great. Her own organizational skills had come back to bite her in the butt.
“I think we should reconsider our separation.” He pulled his right hand from his pocket and held it out to her, a small black velvet box in his palm.
Kacie shook her head in utter disbelief. “What? Why? Why on Earth would you want to get back together?”
“It’s simple, really. We worked well together. My friends think you’re beautiful, my superiors like you.”
Her instincts told her there had to be another reason for this sudden change of heart. “What else?”
“You know me so well,” he said with a sheepish grin. “It might have been suggested to me that being married—being seen as a family man—would help with my career advancement.”
Kacie had dreamed of Mike’s proposal for years. Of him wearing his dress blues and asking her to marry him while she stood in front of him in a pretty dress and music played in the background. And not once in all her imaginings had the proposal ever included job talk.
“Now, I’m not suggesting we get married right away,” he said while easing the lid open, revealing the solitaire diamond ring nestled inside. “I thought a long engagement would probably be better. That way you have time to move, find a new job, and settle in before you start making our wedding plans.”
And here these past few weeks she thought Michael was arrogant. He couldn’t possibly hold a candle to her ex.
He took hold of her left hand. “So . . . what do you think?”
Kacie fought the urge to laugh and cry all at the same time. “You know what, Mike? I think I’ll pass,” she eased her hand from his grip. There was no need to point out that not once had he mentioned loving her. Missing her. Needing her.
His brow wrinkled. “I thought this is what you wanted?”
“It is.” She swallowed around the lump in her throat. “But not with you. Not anymore.”
“You need to be sure, Kacie.” He gave the box a little shake. “Think long and hard because I won’t ask twice.”
He truly expected her to change her mind. And it as possible that six months ago, she would’ve said yes the moment he pulled the box from his pocket.
But thankfully, she was no longer that woman.
“I won’t change my mind.”
The hinged box snapped shut and Mike stared at her in disbelief. “Your loss,” he said, before he finally turned and walked away.
Thankfully, he decided to follow the path along the perimeter of the building instead of cutting back through the ballroom. Kacie breathed a sigh of relief as she made her way to the gazebo where she and Michael had planned to meet. She stared out across the water and at the historic riverfront on the other side, hardly believing what had just happened. Why had she wasted so much time with a man who always put his career before her? Who never really worried about her or cared for her?
And how could she have thought Michael was anything like him when they first met?
They were nothing alike. Not even close. And tonight only proved it.
After a lengthy wait at the open bar, Michael found Kacie standing in the gazebo near the water’s edge, just where she’d said she would be. As she looked out over the river, the warm summer breeze played with the soft fabric of her dress and the loose tendrils of hair at her nape.
“I hope you’re in the mood for a Chatham Artillery Punch.”
Happy to see a smile on her face, Michael handed her the signature drink, a potent combination of wine, rum, tea, and champagne garnished with an orange wedge and maraschino cherry.
“Why aren’t you drinking one of these? Are you trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage?”
At least she wasn’t so upset she couldn’t make a joke.
“No. I just figured maybe you could use a strong drink.” He flashed her a smile, then took a long pull from his longneck.
Kacie didn’t smile back, having caught the full meaning of his words. “You saw Mike, didn’t you?”
Michael nodded and leaned heavily against the gazebo’s waist-high railing, his beer dangling from one hand as he watched one of those riverboat cruises drift by. “I was just about to step out onto the back deck when I saw him take hold of your hand. I decided to give you some privacy.”
What he’d really feared in that moment was that she’d accept her ex if he asked her to take him back. Not knowing the particulars of their breakup, not knowing if she had lingering feelings for him, he honestly hadn’t known how she’d react.
“Why do men have to do crap like that?” she said, shaking her head.
“Crap like what?”
“Like what he did. Showing up here in his dress uniform.” Kacie mimicked his stance and stared down into her glass. “I’m sure everyone noticed him in that ballroom and that’s exactly what he wanted—to be the center of attention. He knows my phone number. He knows where I work, where I live. He could’ve made that gesture any time, any place, and yet he chose to do it tonight.”
She took a drink of her punch, then kept on drinking, finishing nearly half the glass before she stopped to catch her breath.
“I’m sorry, sunshine.” Using his finger, Michael turned her chin to face him. “Maybe he thought you wanted a grand gesture like that. There’s plenty of women who probably would.”
“I don’t doubt there are women who would like that. If anything, his little stunt just proved how big a bullet I dodged.” As she looked at him the little crease between her brows appeared. “But I can’t believe you saw him and didn’t do anything. Would it have killed you to kick his ass? At least threaten a little bodily harm?”
Michael chuckled. “I was kinda hoping you’d do it. Because that would’ve been hot.”
Kacie shoved at his shoulder and laughed. “Your sexual turn-ons will never cease to amaze me.”
“I know. Me either,” he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and tucking her close to his side.
“You know, we’ve never talked about him.” His fingers skimmed the length of her arm, from shoulder to wrist and back again. “How long were you with this guy I have the unfortunate distinction of sharing a name with?”
“Do you really want to do this? Do you want to talk about my ex?”
“Sure. Why not?” He took a fortifying sip of his beer. “Let’s start small. How long were you together?”
She leaned heavily against him, resting her head on his chest as they watched the sun slowly sinking over the horizon.
“Seven years.” She sighed.
Thank God she couldn’t see his expression because . . . wow. There would be no way for him to hide his surprise. After all, his longest relationship had been almost two years nearly a decade ago, and even that relationship was on life support months before he ended it. “The only people I know who’ve been together that long are married.”
“Exactly.”
Normally, he didn’t care about a woman’s past, but he was curious about hers since this guy had ma
de his own pursuit of Kacie more difficult.
“I know he’s a marine. What does he do?”
“He’s a fighter pilot.”
And the surprises just kept coming. He took another drink of his beer, a longer, much needed drink. One that damn near polished off the bottle in his hand.
In his mind, he’d made her ex out to be just another jarhead, a grunt. Maybe someone who worked in the motor pool and spent his day performing routine vehicle maintenance for the brass. He sure as hell didn’t think he’d be an officer, too. No wonder she didn’t want to have anything to do with him in the beginning.
“How did you two meet?”
“My roommate in grad school invited me to her parents’ condo for spring break. He was in flight school in Pensacola.” Kacie took a sip of her punch. “I don’t think I want to tell the rest of this story because it’s not one of my finer moments.”
“Why? Did you give him an ultimatum about getting married?”
He was half joking when he suggested it, but when she pulled away from his embrace he knew he’d hit the nail on the head.
“I did.” Kacie shrugged her shoulders, not bothering to sugarcoat it. “My sister and Bryce had dated all of four months before he proposed and I got jealous. Here I’d spent seven years of my life in a relationship with this guy and not once had he mentioned any kind of future together. But I was the idiot, don’t you see? We never even lived in the same town. It was always long distance. There were times we were closer than others, but the most we ever saw each other was when I visited him on the weekends he wasn’t deployed. The exceptions were those times he would come stay with me for a week or so while on leave, or we went on vacations with his friends.”
She pushed the loose strands of hair back from her face and swiped the skin beneath her eyes with her fingertips. She wasn’t on the verge of tears, just visibly frustrated. If there was one thing he’d learned about her over the past seven weeks, she was harder on herself than anyone.
Something he easily recognized, since it was a trait they had in common.
“It wasn’t wrong of you to have expectations, Kacie. If anything, this guy was a dick for stringing you along like he did for all those years.”
She didn’t say anything in return. Just pursed her lips and gave a slight shake of her head.
“Sunshine, you gave him your heart.” Again, he tipped her chin up so he could see her eyes. “For him to waste that or take it for granted, it makes him the fool, not you. Got it?”
A hint of smile appeared as she gave a half-hearted nod.
It wasn’t much, but it was a start. He took her by the hand and tugged her out of the gazebo.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“Back to the ballroom, of course,” he said with a smile. “I was promised a chicken dance—I intend to claim it.”
Kacie slid the key card into the lock and shoved open the hotel room reserved for the newlyweds. She leaned heavily against the door, holding it open for her sister until Sam’s lengthy train made it completely through. As the door fell shut, her sister toppled onto the bed.
“Oh, my God, I’m exhausted,” Sam said, kicking off her heels and giving her feet a momentary reprieve.
“Well, you better find your second wind seeing as you’ve got at least another two or three hours to go.”
A groan rose from the pillows as Sam rolled over to her back. “You don’t think Bryce will want to have sex tonight, do you?”
Kacie chuckled. “Um . . . I would say that’s highly likely.”
Her sister sat up and placed a hand to her forehead, the diamonds on her finger shooting sparks around the room. “I don’t know that I’ll be able to.”
“Have you eaten?”
“I had a bite of cake.”
“And how much champagne?”
“Not much.”
Kacie narrowed her eyes. “What about punch?”
Sam giggled. “Lots.”
Kacie shook her head and went straight to the mini-fridge. “I can’t believe he was right,” she muttered, pulling out two sandwiches and bottled waters. “Ham and swiss or roast beef and cheddar?”
Sam’s eyes widened. “Gimme, gimme, gimme. I can’t believe you brought food,” she said while grabbing indiscriminately for a sandwich. “Where did these come from?”
“Michael bought them. Called them emergency rations. When we arrived, I got your room key from Bryce and stashed them up here.”
“Okay. I take it back. You made the right call bringing him to my wedding,” Sam said around a mouthful of lunch meat. “I thought he was like those rent-a-dates in the movies, but really, the man is a lifesaver.”
Kacie shook her head as she carefully peeled back the cellophane and tossed the tiny packets of mustard and mayonnaise wrapped inside on the dresser. When they stopped at the convenience store en route to the reception and Michael came out with provisions, she’d thought he was nuts. After all, she attended the catering tastings for this shindig and knew just how much food was downstairs. But between the toasts and the first dances and all the relatives wanting to stop and chat and take pictures, she’d somehow missed out on food, just as her sister had. Not even a bite of cake.
As she savored the sandwich, Kacie envisioned the smug look of satisfaction that Michael would give her when he found out he was right. She could always lie and tell him they didn’t eat the sandwiches—but she wasn’t a very good liar. And he knew it.
“I swear to God, Kacie,” Sam said, cracking open her bottled water. “If I weren’t married already and he weren’t so old, I’d think about marrying that guy myself.”
“He’s not old,” Kacie said before taking another bite of her own sandwich.
Sam snickered. “For you he’s not.”
And just like that she lost her appetite.
She wrapped the cellophane around her partially eaten sandwich and tossed it back in the minifridge before heading into the bathroom to wash her hands. By the time she returned, Sam had finished the sandwich and was polishing off her bottle of water, so Kacie grabbed her sister’s second dress from the closet.
“We need to hurry up. Bryce is going to think he’s got a runaway bride on his hands.”
Sam rose to her feet, a little wobbly yet, but managed to get herself and her voluminous skirt turned around. One tiny satin-covered button at a time, Kacie freed her sister from her dress, lowering it to the ground so Sam could step out of it.
As she quietly went about stuffing it into its massive garment bag, Sam picked up the cocktail gown she would wear for the remainder of the reception.
“What’s the matter?” Sam asked, her tone laced with concern.
“Nothing.”
Sam gave a derisive snort. “That’s a lie. You’re scowling.”
Not realizing she was doing so, Kacie made a conscious effort to relax her face.
“I was just teasing you about Michael,” Sam said. “If a long-term relationship isn’t what you two are about, that’s fine. Maybe it’s a good thing. I’m glad you’ve let your hair down a bit. Not every man you have sex with has to be regarded as a potential husband.”
Careful to not catch any of the delicate fabric within the teeth, Kacie zipped the bag. “Well, there’s definitely no confusion in that regard. Michael and I are only . . .” She wanted to say screwing around. Having a fling. But she couldn’t get the words out. “When I leave for Durham, that will be the end of it. If not sooner.”
Sam studied her. “It’s okay to change your mind, Kace. The program is only a year long. There’s nothing that says you and Michael can’t do the long-distance thing for a while. Then, when you’re done, you can come back here.”
“No,” Kacie said emphatically. “I’m not going to make any more career decisions to accommodate a man. Especially not one who plans on being career military. Do you want me to zip you up or not?”
Sam turned her back and Kacie took hold of the small tab and yanked upward. Considering the
fabric and the dress, she should’ve taken more care, but at this point she just really wanted out of the room.
“When I suggested a fling, I’d hoped it’d teach you to not be so damn rigid.” Sam grabbed a small kit off the dresser to touch up her makeup and eyed Kacie with suspicion via her reflection in the mirror. “You don’t have to be so stubborn all the time. He could decide to leave the military. You never know.”
That, in her opinion, was a pipe dream.
Men of Michael’s rank didn’t just choose to leave the military. They might be medically retired. They might be forced to resign due to conduct unbecoming. But they didn’t just wake up one morning and say, “You know what? I’m tired of being in the military. I think I’ll quit.”
Sam slicked on a fresh layer of lipstick and pressed her lips together. “I meant to ask you, did you happen to see a guy in uniform?” she asked while reaching for a tissue to blot the excess. “Bryce wondered if it was someone from our side of the family since the guy talked to you, but I was in the bathroom and never saw who it was.”
Kacie took a seat on the end of the bed. “It was Mike. Davis.”
“Oh, shit.” Sam’s eyes went wide with surprise. “I assumed it was someone who accidentally wandered into the wrong reception.” Sam sat down on the bed next to her. “How on earth did he know where to show up? I swear I didn’t send him an invitation. The first thing I did after you told me you’d broken up was delete him from the invitation list.”
“Google calendar. I put it in his phone as soon as you guys set the date, time, and place. That was before we broke up.”
“Oh, crap. Kace, I’m so, so sorry.” Sam took Kacie’s hand in both of hers. “But that doesn’t explain why he’d just show up here. Was he wanting you to take him back?”
Kacie could only shake her head in response as the anger, frustration, and exhaustion from the day caught up with her. Unshed tears burned her eyes and clogged her throat. “More than that. He had a ring. Even suggested a long engagement so I’d have time to move and find a job. I passed on his offer.”
After hearing herself recount the encounter, the dam broke and Kacie covered her face and began to cry in earnest. Seven years she’d wasted on a man who had never even loved her.
From the Start Page 16
